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Police confiscated a shotgun from a Hazleton apartment building Thursday after officers were dispatched to Pine Street Playground for a report of a verbal dispute between two women and a man involving a handgun.

Minutes after the 11:46 a.m. Luzerne County 911 dispatch, city police were told those involved in the fight were inside an apartment building about a block away from the playground.

Officers surrounded the building at 49 N. Pine St., where they found a shotgun inside the attic of one of the second-floor apartment units.

Two women were inside the apartment with three small children, police said, and the women admitted to being involved in a verbal dispute, along with an unidentified man, prior to officers' arrival.

The women, police said, denied any weapons being involved and allowed officers to search the home for the man and firearms.

No one else, including the man, was found inside the home, but the shotgun was taken by officers after none of the occupants could prove ownership.

No injuries were reported during the incident and at this time, police said, there will not be any charges filed.

Motorists slowed down as they passed the building, between East Maple and East Green streets, to watch the police activity.

A few small groups of people gathered on the street corners to watch while police officers were inside the building. One of the officers pounded on the door of another apartment unit as a young child inside the building began to cry.

Uniformed officers holding large weapons walked into and out of the building and surveyed the entire perimeter. About six police cruisers were parked in the area of Pine and Maple streets.

One officer with a weapon was positioned on the porch of a home next to the apartment building, while another was nearby at the corner of Pine and Maple, standing next to a police cruiser with its red and blue lights flashing.

Those officers left their posts after the shotgun retrieved from the apartment was placed into the trunk of a police cruiser around 12:30 p.m. Not long after that officers left the area.

West Hazleton police assisted.

- Amanda Christman

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